Amperage

[captainron19]

Just want to double check I am calculating this right.

Last year I bought a ton of the Phillips minis at Target (Normally $3.99 a box but bought them 50% off after Christmas) Each box states there is 40% energy efficient and up to 8 strands can be connected together.

The box says the total wattage for one strand is 24 Watts. So base don my calculation each strand should only draw .2 amps This sound right?

[Guest wbottomley]

Use this to help your calculations: http://www.quartzhillchristmas.com/resources/Light+Controller+Calculator+MASTER+25+vC2.2.xls

[Denny]

Or, you can get a Kill-O-Watt and know exactly what your are pulling.

[Ed Slonka Jr]

Cap Ron,

Yes, you are right. Take the wattage divided by the voltage and you get amps.

120watts/120volts = 1 amp 1200watts/120v = 10 amps

But I have to agree with Denny. Kill O Watt meter is the way to go.

I have one and it works great, the best $25 I have spent.

Sometimes voltage can be different from house to house so if it happens to be less than 120 volts the

amperage goes up and if it is more than 120 volts the amperage would be less. The KOW takes all the guess work out of it.

[TitusCarnathan]

i found an error in that spread sheet but i fixed it to my best knowledge

when you overload the amperage of you controller it still says your controller is reaching is capacity so if the controller is set for 15 amps and you could be at one million amps it will say you are reaching the maximum capicity

the way i fixed it was rearanging the one box so that the greater than amperage warning comes first then followed by the total amperage x.9 forumla there is a better way for it in excell using if it is greater than x amount but less than x amount "you are getting near your maximium capicity but I dont really know how to set it up that way

The person who created this did a great job in fact I am planning on using this spreadsheet this year for my lights.

I would never be able to have the patients and moslty the :?know how:? to create something like this in excell. I only know a few excell commands

Under N26 on all the controller pages replace the box with the following





[align=center]=IF(N23=0;"ERROR - Your controller VOLTS need to be setup on the Controller Totals worksheet";IF(Q23=0;"ERROR - Your controller AMPS need to be configured on the Controller Totals worksheet";IF(Q6>Q23;"Warning - You have exceeded the controller capacity";IF(Q6>Q23*0.9;"WARNING - The controller is reaching its maximum capacity";IF(Q6

[RickWIlliams]

Thanks for the heads up on the error, but I can't seem to replicate what your saying.
I configured a controller worksheet for 15 Amps, 120 Volts and applied 13 - 150 Watt bulbs (16.25 Amps) Message reads: "Warning - You have exceeded the controller capacity"

Can you tell me exactly what parameters you used to get the error?

However, I did find another error while trying to replicate your symptoms: if Total Amps Drawn = Controller Amps (ex. 15 Amps drawn on a 15 Amp board would = 'False' message), this particular error is created since I'm comparing 'Lesser than' or 'Greater than' and forgot about 'equal to', that will be resolved in the new release of the calculator.

Thanks again for the heads up!

[shfr26]

I got a bunch of lights from a Walgreens and they draw about .2 amps. I also check ed them with my meter to double check them. They do draw .2 amps but I agree, get a meter. I got my Reliance at Home Depot for about 25 bucks. It is a must have.

Edit: You may find that these lights are not the same brightness as the others so you should keep them together and try not to mix with your other lights if possible.

[TitusCarnathan]

if the controllers total amp draw is higher than the capcity it still says it is reaching its maximum capicity the only reason it does this is because the forumila has to be in a certain order it will hit what ever one comes first because the reaching your limit one is set for >16*0.9 it will display that message first even thou it is above the maximum capacity one once you rearange them like I did it will fix the problem

also to help prevent accidentaly overwriting important forumila data click on the protect sheet button on each sheet

the important cells are already locked but the lock is not activated until you select protect sheet

[cmoore60]

Rick,

I have used your spreadsheet for a few years. I love it. For me I use it when I set up as well to keep record of my extension cord number for each circuit.

When do you expect to do an update release?

Chuck

[TitusCarnathan]

I like the Spreadsheet to

to bad there isn't any way to make a standalone software out of that spreadsheet. For those of you that does not have excell go to openoffice.org it is a free office package that has most of the things that ms office has including a spreadsheet software I did notice the LOR POWER usage utility spread sheet does not work in that software that needs excell but this spread sheet does work in open office spreadsheet software

[RickWIlliams]

I'm working on the final release now, I was hoping to have it out a month ago, but things are just crazy busy right now. This will be the final release in excel, The next release will be VB stand alone, which will allow me to do a lot more with a lot less thinking.

I still can't get the error to replicate on the new version I'm working on, only conclusion is: I must have found that particular error and fixed it already, but never less the message when the amps applied equal the maximum board amps should read "You have reached your limit", this will also be corrected.

Additionally, I added the option to control the safety threshold (.09 or 90%) to any value desired, usually this is already calculated by the manufactures (hence 120v vs 110v) but I will leave that up to the user to determine what they feel safe with.

The reason the workbook is unlocked is because so many users wanted it that way to change some of the constant calculations to theirs particular needs. Maybe I release the new version locked and release the PW on request.

Thanks again for the great feedback, it's always valuable information!

Best Regards,

[TitusCarnathan]

I dont mean password protect it
you can lock it without a password just leave the password blank if not just use something like LOR